Newsletter for 23 October 2018 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

_{National RAR protest in Canberra}

_{Roadside demonstration report}

_{Coffs Harbourside market report}

_{Fundraising update}

_{More refugees depart Manus and Nauru for the US}

_{Kids Off Nauru campaign}

_{National RAR protest in Canberra}

_{The national protest in Canberra last week went very well. Some 24 RAR groups were represented, from as far away as Armidale, Ballina and even Cairns. In addition, a number of groups, including ours, held local demonstrations in support of the national campaign to evacuate all the children and their families from Nauru. You can find photos of the Canberra protest on the RAR website, details of which are at the end of this newsletter.}

_{Roadside demonstration report}

_{Last Tuesday’s roadside demonstration in Coffs Harbour went really well, in spite of the showery weather. We had a great turnout of supporters, and the response from passing motorists was, as always, almost entirely positive. Our next demo will be on Thursday 1}^st _{November from 2.30 to 4.00 pm on Waterfall Way in Bellingen. You will find us in our usual spot near to the Yellow Shed, opposite the entrance to the golf club. Please come and join us if you can.}

_{Coffs Harbourside market report}

_{Unfortunately, it was raining heavily when we arrived for the market at 7.00 am on Sunday, and very few stallholders had turned up. We quickly decided that there was little point in unloading all our market gear, so we headed for home. We do hope that none of our supporters turned up expecting to find us there. Sincere apologies to anyone who did. Our next market stall will be at the Bellingen market on Saturday 17}^th _{November from 9.00 am until 1.30 pm. If you can lend a hand for an hour or so, then please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.}

_{Fundraising update}

_{Following our hugely successful fundraising event on Sunday 14}^th _{October, we have received a further $200 in donations from supporters who were not able to attend, bringing the total raised for the Asylum Seekers Centre to $3,000. We have transferred the additional money to the ASC account. We have also been offered a house concert by our wonderful duo, Snez and Stewart, which we hope to arrange early in the New Year. Watch this space!}

_{More refugees depart Manus and Nauru for the US}

_{During the past week, seventeen refugees have been flown out of Port Moresby to be resettled in the US. They comprised six Afghans, five Pakistanis, five Rohingyans and one Bangladeshi. This brings the total number of refugees from Manus accepted by the US to 167, leaving over 600 men in limbo on Manus or in Port Moresby. As with previous departures, there were no Iranian, Somali, Sudanese, Iraqi or Syrian refugees in the group for resettlement. It seems that they are stuck indefinitely in PNG without any hope for the future.}

_{The statistics for Nauru indicate that 251 people have been transferred to the US for resettlement, making a total of 418 from Manus and Nauru over a two-year period. The US has said that it will consider taking up to 1250 refugees. The harsh reality is that many refugees have had their applications for resettlement in the US turned down, adding to their despair. There are still between 800 and 900 asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru.}

_{Kids Off Nauru campaign}

_{The national campaign to evacuate children and their families from Nauru continues to build momentum. On at least four occasions last week, critically unwell children, together with their families, were flown to Australia. At least 15 families arrived during the past week, following relentless pressure from refugee advocacy groups like ours, and, in particular, from the Australian Medical Association. This still leaves approximately 70 children on Nauru, many of whom are seriously unwell. The government’s policy on resettlement, however, has not changed. These families are not issued with visas of any type on arrival, and the government continues to insist that, once the children have been treated for their illnesses, they must return to Nauru. We therefore have to continue to campaign for this cruelty to end, and for all the refugees and asylum seekers on Manus and Nauru to be brought to Australia for processing and resettlement. We must also continue to agitate for our government to accept the New Zealand offer to resettle 150 refugees annually, without the imposition of any harsh visa conditions.} 

_{Meanwhile, it’s important to note that the national mood in relation to children in detention is changing. It was certainly a significant issue with many of the voters in the Wentworth byelection. Three Federal Liberal MPs have expressed the view that it’s time to end this nightmare. Craig Laundy, the Federal Member for Reed, writes: “Over the past weeks, I have received hundreds of emails, phone calls and messages from across Australia in support of these children. It is clear that the majority of Australians are calling for children to be removed from detention.” A big thank you to all our RAR supporters who have contacted Craig Laundy. People pressure does work!}

_{Check out the index of subjects on our blog  http://bellorar.blogspot.com.au} 

_{It includes articles from many sources and letters to politicians and newspapers.}

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_{Our Face book is at https://www.facebook.com/Rural-Australians-for-Refugees-Bellingen-and-Nambucca-Districts-269696303205083/timeline/}

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_{Twitter Account @RARBellingenNam}

_{Email address bellingen.rar@gmail.com}

_{The National RAR web site is at  www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au} 

_{The National RAR facebook site is at  RAR Facebook}